Drove 1800 miles during the Christmas holiday in my RWD Active Hybrid 3 and was quite surprised at the neutral handling and control during some very severe weather. During a 100 mile span of the trip with heavy snow drifts, 20+ cars skidded off the road.

The AH3 all season tires cleared the path and I had plenty of traction over frozen ice patches.

Only when accelerating in traction limited conditions, such as starting out from a stop at a slippery intersection. Once moving, an AWD car has the same amount of traction as any other car with similar tires.

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Would the Hybrid battery contribute to added stability and traction

Only to the extent extra weight can, in some circumstances, aid traction.

Chances are, the snow strom you drove thru wasnt that bad, being in the Atlanta area, my guess is that those 20+ cars you saw skidded off the road all have worn tires. It amazed me how many drives in the south are not equipped for the snow. Hybrid does not add traction, you might be able to get away with oem all season tires the 1st year, but next year, you should consider snow tires. In the Northeast, I see a lot of RWD BMW with all season tires get stuck every winter.

I would say too, that when your car is stopped and only 1 tire has good traction, then XI would work well.

I had a case on my old e46 where the car "sat" on deep snow and the rear wheels didn't get any traction. I think in those conditions, it would have helped to have XI as I'd have all the wheels pulling the car.

Also AWD can kind of pull you through your turn if its slippery, while for RWD, you have to ease through it, and be a bit more gentle.

It wasn't a real snow storm if your RWD with All Seasons was able to handle it. You absolutely must have dedicated Winter tires for a rear wheel drive car.

From my perspective driving in the Highlands of Scotland, it is the kind of snow we can have. Get the "wrong kind of snow" and RWD, without winter tires, and you go no where. Certainly need them for car control and braking in most kinds of snow.

It wasn't a real snow storm if your RWD with All Seasons was able to handle it. You absolutely must have dedicated Winter tires for a rear wheel drive car.

Agreed. That's what I'm thinking. You can drive in snow with RWD and all-season tires, but it's an absolute nightmare compared to FWD or AWD. Flat roads are little problem, but the slightest incline becomes a huge monumental challenge. I'm talking about real snow. Not a light dusting.